A field gun is a

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support army, armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the ear ...

piece. Originally the term referred to smaller

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

s that could accompany a field army on the march, that when in combat could be moved about the battlefield in response to changing circumstances (

), as opposed to guns installed in a fort ( garrison artillery or

coastal artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

), or to siege cannons and

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

which are too large to be moved quickly, and would be used only in a prolonged

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

. Perhaps the most famous use of the field gun in terms of advanced tactics was

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's use of very large wheels on the guns that allowed them to be moved quickly even during a battle. By moving the guns from point to point during a battle, enemy formations could be broken up to be handled by the

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

wherever they were massing, dramatically increasing the overall effectiveness of the attack.

World War I

As the evolution of artillery continued, almost all guns of any size became capable of being moved at some speed. With few exceptions, even the largest siege weapons had become mobile by road or rail by the start of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and evolution after that point tended to be towards smaller weapons with increased mobility. Even the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

super-heavy guns in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

were rail or caterpillar-track mobile. In British use, ''field guns'' or ''light guns'' were anything up to in calibre, larger calibres were ''medium guns'', and the largest calibres were ''heavy guns''.

World War II

Since about the start of

, the term has been applied to long-range artillery pieces that fire at a relatively low angle, as opposed to

howitzer The howitzer () is an artillery weapon that falls between a cannon (or field gun) and a mortar. It is capable of both low angle fire like a field gun and high angle fire like a mortar, given the distinction between low and high angle fire break ...

s which can fire at higher angles. Field guns also lack a specialized purpose, such as anti-tank or coastal artillery. By the later stages of World War II the majority of artillery in use was either in the form of howitzers of to , or in form of hybrid anti-tank/field guns that had high enough muzzle velocity to be used in both roles. The most common field guns of the era were the British , the American

155 mm Long Tom The 155 mm gun M1 was a 155 millimeter caliber field gun developed and used by the United States military. Nicknamed "Long Tom" (an appellation with a long and storied history in U.S. field and naval artillery), it was produced in M1 and M ...

(a development of a French World War I weapon) and the Soviet BS-3 – an artillery piece adapted from a naval gun and designed to double up as an anti-tank weapon. One of the most produced field guns during the war was the Soviet

ZiS-3 The 76-mm divisional gun M1942 (ZiS-3) () (GRAU index: 52-P-354U) was a Soviet 76.2 mm divisional field gun used during World War II. ''ZiS'' was a factory designation and stood for ''Zavod imeni Stalina'' ("factory named after Stalin"), t ...

with over 103,000 produced. The ZiS-3 could be used in direct fire against armored vehicles, direct fire in infantry support, and indirect fire against distant targets.

1960s and 1970s

The U.S. Army tried the long-range gun again from the early 1960s to the late 1970s with the M107 175 mm gun. The M107 was used extensively in the Vietnam War and proved effective in artillery duels with the North Vietnamese forces. It was considered a high-maintenance item and was removed from service with U.S. forces after a rash of cracked barrels. Production of the M107 continued until 1980 and the gun is still in service with the Israeli military. Reserve stocks are held by other former users such as the

People's Army of Vietnam The People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN), officially the Vietnam People's Army (VPA; , , ), also recognized as the Vietnamese Army (), the People's Army () or colloquially the Troops ( ), is the national Military, military force of the Vietnam, S ...

Modern times

Since the 1980s and 1990s, the field gun has seen limited combat use. The class of small and highly mobile artillery has been filled with increasing capacity by the man-portable mortar in or / calibre and has replaced every artillery piece smaller than .

Gun-howitzer Gun-howitzer (also referred to as gun howitzer) is a type of artillery weapon that is intended to fulfill the roles of both an ordinary cannon or field gun, and of a howitzer. It is thus able to convey both direct fire, direct and indirect fire. Mo ...

s fill the middle ground, with the world rapidly standardizing on either the 155 mm (6.1 in)

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

(former

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

) standards. The need for a long-range weapon is filled by

rocket A rocket (from , and so named for its shape) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using any surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely ...

missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a target; this ...

s, and

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

. Modern gun-artillery such as the L118 105 mm light gun or the M119 105 mm howitzer are used to provide fire support for infantry and armour at ranges where mortars are impractical. Man-packed mortars lack the range or hitting power of gun-artillery. In between is the rifled towed mortar; this weapon (usually in calibre) is light enough to be towed by a truck or SUV, has a range of over and fires a projectile comparable in destructive power to a / artillery shell.

References

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